The word "butler" derives from the "bouteillier", (meaning "cup bearer"), from "bouteille", ("bottle") and ultimately from Latin. The role of the butler, for centuries, has been that of the chief of a household, the attendant entrusted with the care and serving of wine and other bottled beverages (which in ancient times might have represented a considerable portion of the household's assets).
As a surname "Butler", this family derive their origin from the old Counts of Briony or Biony, in Normandy, a descendant of whom, Herveius Fitz Walter, accompanied the Conqueror into England. His son Lord Theobald le Botiller FitzWalter (Lord of Preston) accompanied Henry II into Ireland, where, having greatly assisted in the reduction of the kingdom, was rewarded with large possessions there and granted land holdings of Baggotrath, Co. Dublin, and the Stein River lands around what is now Trinity College Dublin.
Lord FitzWalter made it the place of his residence where the king afterward conferred on him the office of hereditary chief Butler of Ireland in 1177, whence his son, Theobalde Butler was the first to hold the name and pass it to his descendants, of whom the Earls of Ormond are the most prominent Butler family in the history of Ireland.
